Ore-concentrator



' .ylldraliatjoneandthesame operation and to Tor/ZZ .whont zit-may concern:

' "UNITED, vSTATES PATFENT OFFICE.

E L'MER MERRITT Riou, oFsILvERToN, .COLORADOl QRE-CONQENTBATQR;

ernerrrea'rron ronn'ing'parc f' Lett'erratent No. 604,920, dated May s1, 189s.

Beit known that I, ELMER MERRITTRICH, a citizen of the United States, residing atSilverton, in the 'county of San Juan land State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful OreGoncentrator, of. which the following is a specification.

The purpose of this invention is to extract .and save all orpractically the total amount of themineral containedin a given quantity of ore, lso that the tailings are of little value and contain-no appreciable amount of the L precious metals.-

. 'A vital featurelof the improvelnent'is to' separate'the precious metals from the' baser 4the ore to'be separated, after being pulver-- f izedofotherwise preparedtin'theusual way,l s vis introduced into a funnel-shaped receptacle' andis'givenawhirling-motion, whereby the mineral under the resultantv force of centrifugal, gravital, and deiiecting action moves toward the center andgravitates, and is thereby` -separated from the mud, sand, andgravel,

and the whirling and eddying mass of ore is subjected' to an upward current of water,

Wherebythe/ sand andflighter .particles are buoyed upjand floated' off, the mineral gravitating into'a subreceptacle containing amalgani'ated trays, which absorb the precious a metals, .the baser mineral collectingfin the subreceptacle,` from whichit' is drawn at stated periods, thereby permitting the apparatus to be operated continuously,

i' changes in the form, proportion,- and the- 1 minordetail'sof construction without depart-l '-"Foa fllnderstanding of the merits and f advantages of the inventionreference is to be liad'.-to,the accompanying drawings and the The improvement is susceptible of various ing" from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and to va full disclosure of therinvention an adaptation thereof f'Figure l'is a perspective View of an appa"-v Ving the precious metals.

View of thedelivery end of the supply-pipe,

vthe apparatus under pressure.

Applicant ned Jans s, i897.' serial No. 639.886." on man.)

is a vertical central section thereof. isa detail vie-w showingthe tray for collect- Fig. 4 is a top plan showing the nozzle.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in the several views of the drawings by lthe .same reference characters.

The receptacle 1 is of Haring construction,

being conico-cylindrical in outline, and approximates the shape of afunneland isplaced with its'wider end uppermost to recei-ve the -ore to be concentrated.A The subreceptacl'c 2is the co'unterparitiof the receptacle 1, but placed in a reverse.order, wlth its larger end down and its `si 1 1'aller end uppermost and conv 1... f. Vnectedwith the contracted end of the; l'eCGpf In carrying out the intent ofthe invention Fig. 3`

gether in anymannerfound most aclvanta\""' geous. Flames 3 and 4 communicatetangen- `tially with.A the upper endofthe receptacle 1,

so as to im-part a whirling` motion tothe ore supplied to. the-receptacle, lwhereby the separation is effected. One of these iiulnes may l serve as the inlet and theother the outlct,'or both may bel utilized for su pplyingthe ore to the receptacleyand in this4 c 'ase the water and wasteproducts will iiow over the receptacle 1 and be received in-a box in which the ap'- y paratus may be located. y

., A- pipe 5 communicates with'thelowerl por- I tion ofthe apparatus-andpasses centrally through the subreceptacle 2 and .connects With a suitable source-for supplying water to The upper end of the supply-pipe'isprovided Wi th a ilaring nozzle 6, which is located aboutin a plane corresponding with the juncture of the two receptacles,-the are of the nozzle corresponding to the-.dare of the .receptacle 1, whereby the -sheet of water injected into the receptacle l is caused to follow close to the walls thereof, so as to engage with theouter stratum orlayer of the whirling mass in the receptacle 1 and carry 0E the sand, mud, and tailings. -The mineral collecting at the center passes into the s'ubrecepta'c'le across the sheet vof water escaping from the nozzle 6, whereby the Ilight matter is entirely removed therefrom.

l vThe tray located upon the base of the subreceptacle or apparatus is composed of simi lar sections or parts 7 cach" b'eingof scmicircular form and having a notch 8 in its inner edge to receive the supply-pipe. This'tray is constructed of copper and is composed of sections in the manner' s'et forth to admit of its being fitted about the supply-pipe 5, so that it can be removed from time to'time for collecting the precious metals precipitated thereon. y This trayis formed with a vertical rim, which acts as a retarder tov retain the metal collecting thereon. The upper surface of the. tray is amalgamated or coated with quicksilver for the purpose of absorbing any precious metal coming in contact therewith. The baser metals aecumulate'in the subreceptacle and are drawn oft from time to time through an opening closed-by a plug or gate 9. The tray is removed throughan opening in the side of the subreceptacle closed by a door l0, and access is had to the interior of the subreceptacle by means of the-said door.

Il'aving thus described the invention,.n'l1at is claimed as new 'isl. An oreconcentrator and separator com prising similarly-formed funnel-shaped receptacles inversely disposed and joined at their smaller ends, the subreceptaele having openings in' its`sides closed by meansof a plug and a door, lumes communicating tangentially with the upper end of the topmost receptacle, a pipe for supplying Water extending vertically through the subreceptacle and terminating in a Haring nozzle about in `the plane of the juncture of the two receptacles, land a tray placed in the subreceptacle and removable therefrom through the opening closed by the door, substantially as de scribed.

2. An o re-concentrator constructed substantially as set forth, comprising funnelshaped receptacles inversely disposed and joined at their smaller ends, a fiume communicating with the upper end of the upper receptacle and disposed tangentially so as 'to vimpart a whirling motion to the ore simultaneously with its delivery to the receptacle, a supply-pipe passing vertically through the subreceptacle and terminating in a flaring nozzle about i-n the plane of the juncture of the two receptacles, and a sectional amalgamated tray composed of similar parts notched in their meeting ends and, located in the subreceptacle and fitted about the supply-pipe, substantially as set forth. l

In testimony that 'I claim the foregoing as my own Ihave hereto aixed my signaturein the presence of two witnesses.

KELMER MERRIrr Riou.

Witnesses:

WARREN A. FAY, .JOHN W. TURNER. 

